The Idyllwild Fire Protection District Personnel Committee met with negotiators from the Idyllwild Career Firefighters Association last week. Before entering a closed session during the Dec. 5 committee meeting, Commissioner Jerry Buchanan announced that the subjects were the new California Public Employees Retirement System rules and overtime. The CalPERS issue was a continuation of the…

Cal Fire/Riverside County firefighters responded to reports of a vegetation fire in the county area of Old Banning-Idyllwild Road and Mt. Edna Road at 4:18 p.m. Sunday, June 4. The first arriving chief officer reported a ¼-acre vegetation fire burning at a slow rate of spread. The fire grew to 7 acres, but the forward…

At last week’s special meeting, Idyllwild Water District directors listened to new General Manager Tom Lynch and Chief Financial Officer Hosny Shouman discuss preliminary reasons for a potential rate increase, particularly for the sewer district. Lynch explained that the presentation was just an initial discussion, and more information and a recommendation would be ready when…

Cristin Smith’s motion to have charges against him for the 2006 triple murder in Pinyon was denied Friday, June 20. Riverside County Superior Court Judge Jeffery Gunther ruled that Smith must return on Aug. 1 for a trial-readiness conference. On the night of Sept. 17, 2006, Becky Friedli, 18, her mother, Vicki Friedli, 53, and…